Before they hit up one of the sweetest opening gigs out there, England’s 65daysofstatic throw down the haunt-meets-dance Distant and Mechanized Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties EP. The Sheffield-born band will be opening up for the one and only Cure on their (delayed) North American tour, playing everywhere from the Hollywood Bowl to Madison Square Garden (QRO venue review). In the run-up to that, they release their latest EP, a superior single version of “The Distant and Mechanized Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties” from their 2007 full-length, The Destruction of Small Ideas.
While “Distant and Mechanized” was something of an unremarkable track on Destruction, it has been given new life not once, but twice, on this EP. “Dance Parties (Distant)” delivers a pressing dance-mix with anthemistic qualities, while “Dance Parties (Mechanized)” is more of a straight-up dance party. While “(Distant)” is clearly superior to “(Mechanized)”, both stand above the relatively non-descript Destruction version of the song.
But Distant and Mechanized is also blessed with two brand new tracks, “Goodbye, 2007” and “Antique Hyper Mall”. Both of these show off a more haunting side to 65days, “Goodbye” and sort of ‘lost spaceman’, while “Antique” plays more low-key, carrying instead of a speedy attack. But the Euro-synth keys (reminiscent of Euro-electronica granddaddy, Orbital) tie the two sides of the EP together.
Hand-picked by The Cure to open for them, 65daysofstatic might seem an odd fit with the king of the goths. But the group is known for loving to put on a show, something that can fit on any bill. And the mixture of fun and haunt on The Distant and Mechanized Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties EP is something even the palest of goths can appreciate.
